Abstract The industrial design plays a vital role in increasing the aesthetic and commercial value of manufactured products. This article examines the legal frameworks for the protection of industrial designs in Bangladesh after the newly enacted Bangladesh Industrial Designs Act 2023 and evaluates its compatibility with international standards, South Asian and other best practices. It assesses the extent to which Bangladesh and its regional counterparts, ie India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, have developed coherent, trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights-compliant regimes for protecting the aesthetic and non-functional aspects of industrial products. Through a doctrinal and comparative methodology, the article investigates core elements of design protection. It reveals divergence among South Asian jurisdictions on key doctrinal questions, including India’s emphasis on originality versus Sri Lanka’s ornamentality requirement, and evaluates their capacity to address emerging challenges such as designs generated by artificial intelligence. The article further explores how the administrative and judicial structures across these jurisdictions differ in processing applications, managing infringements and providing remedies. We find that, although Bangladesh has made commendable progress in updating its design law, several challenges remain in ensuring effective enforcement and regional harmonization, reducing a lack of clarity in addressing new technologies and aligning fully with international standards and best practices. Variations across South Asian countries further indicate the need for greater regional harmonization. The article aims to contribute to ongoing policy discussions and legal reforms by offering insights into how South Asia can improve the protection of industrial designs while supporting creativity, innovation and fair competition.
Islam et al. (Thu,) studied this question.